Kara Lyven, MBA, CPPS, is the Executive Director for Patient Safety at Duke University Hospital. She provides oversight and operational leadership for the hospital’s patient safety program. She works collaboratively with hospital leadership to advance safety culture and the organization’s commitment to zero harm through evolving systems, processes, event analyses, and trainings. A key focus of her professional role is recognizing the interconnectedness of human error, system design, and safe choices in everyday clinical work. Kara joined Duke in 2016 as a Senior Patient Safety Associate and previously served as the Director of North Carolina Hospital Association’s (NCHA) Patient Safety Organization. She gained extensive experience as a Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Specialist for a 452-bed hospital in upstate NY and has served as a Regulatory Safety Associate at Pfizer in Manhattan. Kara holds a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and an MBA in Pharmaceutical Studies. In addition to being a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS), she is a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer, is Green Belt trained and has served on multiple Patient & Family Advisory Committees as a strong patient advocate.

Melissa McClay, MPH, CPHRM, CPPS, is the Director of Patient Safety and Risk Management for MaineHealth Maine Medical Center (a multi-campus medical center with 929 licensed beds). She has worked in the field of patient safety since 1999, beginning as an Administrative Associate in the Quality Improvement and Risk Management Department at Boston Children’s Hospital. She advanced to a Patient Safety Specialist role, and helped coordinate the implementation of Patient Safety Leadership WalkRounds at that organization. After moving to Southern Maine, Melissa continued to gain experience as a Risk Manager and Patient Safety Director for a community hospital system, where she led initiatives to enhance the culture of safety through the use of Just Culture tools, the development of a patient safety orientation program for new leaders and providers, and organization wide TeamSTEPPS training. Melissa received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Vermont, and received a Master of Public Health degree from the Boston University School of Public Health. In addition to being a Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management (CPHRM) and a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS), Melissa has also received certifications in Lean Six Sigma and Project Management. She is a Patient Safety faculty member for the MaineHealth Hannaford Center for Safety, Innovation & Simulation, and has served as a Risk Management Mentor for the Northern New England Society for Healthcare Risk Management since 2022.

Jessica Behrhorst, MPH, CPPS, CPQH, CPHRM, is a Quality, Safety and HRO Consultant working in the areas of patient safety, workforce safety, and high reliability. She is faculty for the IHI Patient Safety Executive Development Program, Patient Safety and Quality for Emerging Leaders, and Redesigning Event Review with Root Cause Analysis and Action (RCA2). She previously served as the Senior Director at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). She has also served as the Assistant Vice President of Quality & Patient Safety at Ochsner Health System where she helped set the strategic priorities in quality and patient safety and she oversaw various projects involving patient safety, performance improvement, regulatory readiness, ambulatory nursing, infection control and quality outcomes. She has presented her work on (RCA2) and Improving the Culture of Safety at various regional and national meetings. She has also worked on research projects involving reduction in Sepsis mortality and access to healthcare for underserved populations. Jessica received her bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and her Master of Public Health Degree from the Louisiana State University School of Public Health. She is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS), a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and a Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management (CPHRM).